login
 Swim
Comments: ...okay. I've done a pool swim for a tri before. Rules are, you have to cross the timing mat on deck, drop in feet first, and go from there. There's always the question of do I drop in as close to the wall as possible and push off, or do I jump in and start from a dead stop. Well, like I said, I think the bagpipes were distracting me. I didn't really think of what I was going to do, so when it came my time to cross the mat and jump in, I completely spazzed out and did a pseudo belly flop. It was so bad, I couldn't even call it a head-first entry. I even called myself a spaz in mid-air. I hit the water and got water in my goggles, which made me have to stop and empty them after 5 strokes. After that fiasco, I got into my rhythm and finished the first 50m much quicker than I would've thought. I concentrated on my catch and follow-through. Felt pretty good the whole way. Only got passed once. Didn't pass anybody, might have in the last 50, but didn't bother. What would you do differently?: Not do my version of "The Triple Linding" for my entry.  Transition 1
Comments: Ran into transition with "Oh Danny Boy" blasting in my ears (no joke). The sun had come up, but it was still verrry cold! The folks that just made it into T1 had steam rising from their bodies. Really cool to see. Started getting into socks, shoes, and pullover. Marcy came in right after and made a great observation: "Laurie, I hate to tell you this, but there is steam coming out of your butt." What would I do without my friends? What would you do differently?: Nothing. Decided against long pants and worked out very well.  Bike
Comments: Cold riding out there! It actually turned out to be good for me, because my legs were so numb, I didn't feel them burn on the climbs. Got passed a lot (like always) and passed some. Hills weren't really too bad, but I know I should spend more time in the saddle to make the ride more enjoyable. What would you do differently?: My goal was to average greater than 15 mph and I did it. I should have drank more, because I know it affected me going into the run. Transition 2
Comments: My feet were numb heading into T2. Kinda scary jumping off the bike. Couldn't even manage a trot in to the rack. Bent over to get into my running shoes and got a horrible cramp in my left upper hamstring. Hobbled out of transition listening to Andy come into the finish. What would you do differently?: Drink more on the bike.  Run
Comments: Hobbled for the first 100 yds and finally started running after some encouragement from Kenny. Felt pretty good throughout the first mile, even though it seemed a little long. Walked the uphills, but ran the majority of the way, which is really good for me. I gave out lots of high-fives and "good jobs" along the way. I was really surprised at how good I felt. Saw Jim and Marcy on the way out and Shannon and her sexy leg warmers on the way back. Recognized Steve about 50 yards away and started screaming like a fool. He looked almost giddy to be out there! Ran the last 3/4 mile and was just about to reach my limit when there was a slight grassy uphill to the last turn. Started hearing everybody cheer, heard my name and kicked it into high gear. I think I even let out a growl! What would you do differently?: Nothing. Great run, great course. Post race
Warm down: Lots of well-wishes from the BT gang. Can't tell you how wonderful it is to have friends out there supporting you. Got pics of Shannon and Steve coming in. So proud of our tri virgins, Steve and Jim. So proud of everybody! We all work so hard (well, I can count myself in that sometimes...) and it's great to see these kind of results! Oh, yeah, I got hardware!!! Was really pissed that the 2nd place Athena finsher didn't show up to the awards. I remember seeing in the race packet that you had to be present to get awards, so Shannon should have gotten hardware too! Great post-race breakfast by Steve! My new favorite post-race grub over pizza...bacon and eggs! What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of training, belly-flops into the pool Event comments: Dallas Athletes really puts on a pretty good race. The venue was absolutely one of the best I've ever raced. Definitely would do this race again. Last updated: 2007-03-18 12:00 AM
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK
United States
Dallas Athletes
40F / 4C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 253/287
Age Group = Athena 0-39
Age Group Rank = 3/6
Drove out to Keller Friday evening for dinner with the BT gang (dodgersmom, doughboy, apw0397, swatson, TexOma, dww2, gino2u, sblack, jeepfleeb) Derek had to work, so it was a lonely ride and felt like the whole time that something was missing...
Drove the bike course with Marcy and felt a little more at ease after that. Watched Steve nervously flit around the house packing his t-bag. Didn't really hit me until late that night that I was actually racing the next day. GULP!
Drove over to the race site. Dark and cold. Walking over to bodymark, I expected to hear some booty-shaking, ear-thumping, motivational music like at any other race. But this was St. Paddy's day and there was Irish music. Not U2 (which would have been nice), but Irish jig music. Kind of appropriate since we were all kind of jumping around trying to keep warm. Got a pretty decent rack spot right next to Marcy (I was 185, she was 186). Checked, double-checked and went inside the natatorium to thaw. And of course, what is a St. Paddy's Day race without bagpipes! This guy played and kept playing for most everyone's swim start. Looking back now, he must have distracted me into what happened next...